A New Dream Come True
by Sindie
Summary: Post-series 2 finale, Destinies Collide: "Did Rapunzel and I ever get married? Well, I am happy to say after years and years of asking, I finally said yes..." They say the third time's the charm. And yes, he asked her.


Eugene blinked against dawn's light spilling over the horizon. The sun's rays glinted on the golden strands wrapped around him-Rapunzel's hair. He adjusted his head in the cocoon of hair and verdant grass, sighing into the natural comfort afforded him after yesterday's trauma. Birdsong echoed around him in the trees, a symphony of creation mixing with the gentle snores of their traveling companions a few feet away.

He took a moment to marvel that Rapunzel's hair glowed with the sun in much the same manner it did when its mystical Sundrop power awakened. The morning hues caressed the soft curves of her face. He brought a hand to her cheek, then leaned in and kissed the tip of her freckled nose.

She shifted and stirred. Two vibrant green eyes opened, along with a smile. "Good morning." She pushed herself to sitting and mirrored his gesture, her hand now on his cheek.

Eugene smiled, said not a word, and claimed her lips with his. Rapunzel's hair embraced them, shielded them, as they held onto each other, their forms melded as one.

When the kiss ended, Rapunzel tucked her head into the space between Eugene's neck and shoulder. He pressed a kiss onto the top of her head.

"What are you thinking?" she asked.

A million things, he thought. Ever since finding out the truth about his past, meeting his father, and narrowly escaping Cassandra after she turned on them by grabbing the MoonStone, Eugene found himself fingering the tiny box in his pocket more and more. Two years ago, he died in Rapunzel's arms and was saved by her love and the power of her Sundrop tears. A year ago, he nearly married Stalyan against his will.

Two botched proposals, a flurry of confusion and misunderstanding between them, and two years that held enough memories to fill two lifetimes swirled through Eugene's mind.

"Rapunzel, I-" He licked his lips. "If there's one thing these last couple of years have taught me, it's that every moment is precious."

"I won't disagree with you there." Rapunzel's voice wavered between thoughtfulness and wariness.

Eugene removed himself enough from their embrace so he could look into her eyes. He brushed a stray hair from her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. Swallowing down the lump in his throat, he took her hands in his. The gloves he wore during most of their trip were absent. The skin-on-skin contact elated and startled him in equal measures. His head spun.

"We haven't had a chance to really talk about what happened at the Dark Kingdom," he said in a low voice, glancing at his slumbering father a few feet away.

"There wasn't a chance, to be fair." Rapunzel half-smiled.

Eugene chuckled softly. "No, I suppose not, between finding out I'm a prince of all things and fighting a twisted version of Cassandra. And here I thought bickering with her was bad enough!"

Rapunzel frowned. "Eugene-"

He held up his hands. "Okay, sorry. Bad taste and timing." He sighed. "Yeah, it's really not the kind of thing to joke about. I guess I was just trying to make light of the situation, since we were, you know, in the Dark Kingdom and all."

Rapunzel groaned, a smile in her eyes.

Eugene raised an eyebrow. "What? That's all I'm gonna get from you today? I thought that one was pretty good."

She shook her head. "You've told better."

He scoffed and muttered under his breath, "Note to self: work on jokes." Then more loudly: "I must be getting rusty. Too much time spent within those dark walls wondering who I am or was or was supposed to be."

Rapunzel cupped his cheek with her hand. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Eugene took her hand in his, kissed it, and held it in his lap. "When I wouldn't let you enter the castle, I was…I was lost. Rapunzel, I never should've listened to him." He glared at King Edmund. "I can't even think of him as my father, not really. I mean, he comes along after all these years and tells me the truth? I was just supposed to accept it?" He emitted a low growl as his father's words came back. Pinching his eyes shut, Eugene remembered the picture of his parents. The mother he would never know. The father who had sent him away.

"It's a lot to take in. I get that, Eugene, but you got through to him in the end. You convinced him to let me into the chamber where the MoonStone was. Without you-"

"Without me, Cassandra never would've gotten in there," he finished with a sour tone.

"No one could've known-" Rapunzel stopped, choking on her words. Her eyes glassed over. "I'm not going to cry over it, I swear."

"Hey, hey, cry all you want, Sunshine." Eugene pulled her to him, smoothing down the back of her hair.

Rapunzel sobbed into his shirt while he stroked her magical hair. "Like you said, Blondie, no one could've known...Cassandra would've betrayed us. I thought it was me. I was just trying to protect you, and of course, stupid of me to ever think you needed protecting. You're the strongest person I know. That's why I have faith in you."

She pulled away and gave a watery laugh. "Your shirt is soaked with my tears."

"All the more reason to wear it, then." He kissed away every tear on her cheeks, until the only marks on her sweet face were her freckles.

"I wouldn't have gotten this far without you," Rapunzel said. "And I know what you were doing back there at the castle...that you were just trying to protect me. You don't have to apologize."

"One thing I want you to understand, Rapunzel, is that without you, I am lost. When I thought I had to keep you from the MoonStone because it might kill you, I didn't know who I was anymore. I thought everything I ever knew was a lie. My mother, you see...she died because of the MoonStone's power. It tore the king apart. He sent everyone, including me, away...to...to protect me." He paused and gave a soft chuckle. "You know, funny thing… I told Cassandra once that I imagined my parents as swashbuckling rogues, like I was, I guess. I thought they'd come back for me when I was a kid. A stupid dream, but there it is."

"You told Cassandra this?" Rapunzel's mouth hung open.

"Yeah, that time when you locked us in a cell and made us work together." He smiled wistfully. "Now I know the truth about my parents, and I don't suppose it makes it any better. The past is gone. The point is, when I thought I would never see you again, when I thought we had no future, after everything…" Eugene reached into his pocket and pulled out the tiny box. He took Rapunzel's hands in his. "After everything, and I mean everything, we've been through, there's no one else I want to spent my life with, going through everything that is to come. I've almost lost you twice, Rapunzel. I can't live without you. You're my one true light, the love of my life. I love you with all my heart, and now, more than ever, I see us in this together, come what may. Rapunzel, will you marry me?"

The sun rose fully over the horizon, bathing them in light as a huge smile graced Rapunzel's face. Eugene thought he might be blinded by the sun and her smile alike.

"Yes, Eugene, yes!" She threw her arms around him and kissed him, deeply, passionately.

"Yes! Did you say yes?" Eugene laughed, lost in a different way than he had been yesterday. Lost in joy. Lost in love. Lost in her yes.

"I did. Yes, this time I said yes!" Rapunzel's laughter rang with his, joining the chorus the birds sang: the promise of a new day, of a future together.

Eugene slid the ring on her finger, laid a kiss there to seal his promise, and kissed her lips again. "Thank you for making me the happiest man alive. I might not be sure about a lot of things, about what lies ahead, but I know I love you."

"I love you, too, Eugene."

He pulled her close, wrapped in her hair once again, and closed his eyes. Let the moment be a new dream come true.


End file.
